what's my login?

Start by logging in as root.  "root" is the superuser, system administrator, whatever.

Then add ordinary users, including yourself. (You only want to use the root account for maintenance).  You can trash the system in a heartbeat because root has access to everything.

I don't know what version of Linux you are using, but after logging in as root, you should be able to type the command "useradd" or "adduser"  -- give yourself an account name, like garth. Then enter passwd to set your account password.  That is not a typo, the command is passwd, not password.

Don't be alarmed that you can't see the password as you type it: that's normal and proper.

Depending on the distribution of Linux you have, there may or may not be any further permissions to set.  But, this will get you started.

Great, I have got passed that problem, now it just gives me the following:

[root@localhost.root]# and won't let me in. I have tried reinstalling several times now and can't see where I am going wrong?

There are subtle differences between distros. Suggest you add a comment, or repost -- this time be specific as to what version of linux you are running.

Are you certain that the command line is "root@localhost.root"?  The "#" symbol indicates that you have, in fact logged in successfully as root; that you are in a shell, and that the computer is ready to go. Try "cd /" (leave off the quotation marks) and see what happens. Then try to run "adduser bob" or whatever. If you have gotten that far, it may be working and you just don't realize it! (BTDT)

If you were looking for the grahpical environment, at the [root@localhost.root]# prompt, type startx.  this will only work if you have set up X.  Most distributions ask you this when you set up the Linux.  The things that it should have asked you was what type of monitor do you have?,What type of video card do you have?,etc.  If youdidn't set this up in the begining, at the prompt you can type Xconfigurator and set up X/